Long-isolated Libya plans new archaeology drive

Libya plans to invite the world's top archaeologists to unearth its ancient past as it tries to lure more tourists after decades in isolation, the head of the government's archaeology department said.

With a central role in early human migration, the desert country on the Mediterranean is home to a multitude of ancient and prehistoric sites. Many are thought to remain undiscovered.

But years of western sanctions tarnished Libya's image and only a few hundred thousand people visit the north African country each year, compared to over eight million for neighbouring Egypt.

"We will open our arms to the best scientists from Japan to the US. We will not exclude one major institution, be it Oxford, Cambridge, the Sorbonne or Rome," said Giuma Anag, chairman of the government's archaeology department.

In a recent interview, he described discoveries to date as only the tip of the iceberg.

The archaeology campaign is backed by leader Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, who recently approved setting up of a society for safeguarding archaeology that would coordinate the work of foreign and local researchers.

"It is a huge acceleration," Mr Anag told Reuters. "We never had this kind of support before."

Archaeology took a back seat after Gaddafi's 1969 Islamic Socialist revolution although work never entirely stopped. Some foreign archaeologists continued work - making significant finds - even during the low point of relations with the West.

Libya, three times the size of France, was inhabited by humans over 60,000 years ago when Homo Sapiens began moving north from east Africa before colonizing Europe.